Summeritis
by FranticNonsense
Summary: "Hey Hummel. Since you've probably never kissed a dude before, let me do the honors by letting you kiss my fist!" Karofsky snickers and swings back his arm.  The Glee kids have a whole summer ahead of them.
1. It Has Begun

Summeritis

Disclaimer: I don't even own the hand that does the 'L' in Glee, let alone anything on the show. I just do this for my own entertainment.

Summary: Drama doesn't just come from the hallways or class rooms. The Glee kids have the whole summer in front of them to get through.

A/N: As I await the new season of Glee, I fill in my Glee-needs with some fanfiction. Reviews are much appreciated. I also tried to make this seem as in character with the show as possible. So there will be some mental narrations from characters and some songs to be sung. Hope you enjoy.

XxXxXx

"Kurt. Come on. You look fine."

"No offense to your opinion Finn, but I do believe my fashion repertoire goes past me looking 'fine' and into 'fashionably brilliant.' "

"…We're all just going to hang out at the park, dude. And I don't wanna cause a twenty minute delay to our basketball game because your reptile-"

"Repertoire."

"That, needs to look constantly fabulous."

"Sorry. I'll add the finishing touches and be all ready to give you a ride to the court in my baby."

"Thanks man." And with that, Finn ascends the stairs leading away from the boys' room in the basement.

Kurt eyes him mount the stairs through the reflection in his silver-framed mirror. In his mind, Kurt gives his mental narration. "_Yes, it's true. Finn and I have finally made amends after our little episode around Gaga dash Kiss week. I've updated our room to look like a place where Tom Brady and Beyonce would come to hang out, although I've made sure Beyonce's presence is far more known of course." _

Kurt ascends the stairs as well after final primping and greets his dad and Ms. Hudson in the kitchen. Some chatter about everyone's plans for the day and last minute tips for the game ("Make sure you flip your wrist when you shoot a basket." "I'll be a spectator in this one, dad." "Finn, play some soccer with your friends one day so Kurt can show off his kicking skills." "Will do, Burt.") are given. Kurt and Finn load up into Kurt's car and head off for the county park a few minutes away.

"_As for any possible romantic feelings towards my maybe-step-brother, they're the way they are after anybody goes through a major crush and accepts it as a 'never gonna happen' scenario. A little wanting trembles through me sometimes when he gives his goofy, toothy smile; I occasionally imagine it's my shoulders he wraps his burly arm around instead of that talented-yet-sometimes-unbearable drama queen known as Rachel Berry; and every so often I write out the words 'Finn Hummel' or 'Kurt Hudson' on a piece of paper and then shred it up after I realize the only way that'll happen is after our parents undoubtedly get married."_

Kurt's parked the car and the rims continue to spin as he and Finn exit the automobile and make their way to the basketball court, where many of their Glee friends have already arrived. _"But yes, as the famous song from one of my top 10 favorite movies goes, 'my heart will go on.' Finn and I may never have the romance I dreamed of, but I will make sure we have an incomparable bromance." _ His narration ends as he spots Mercedes, Quinn, and Tina, gossiping away, at a picnic table up ahead. The two boys separate as Kurt seats himself with the girls, hooking his arm through Mercedes' in the process, and Finn heads towards Puck and the other jocks.

Finn high fives Puck, whose Mohawk is slowly starting to make a comeback, and fist bumps Mike and Matt. "Hey dudes. Sorry about the delay; Kurt spends more time in front of the mirror than my mom does."

"S'alright man." Matt smiles and throws the orange ball up slowly, tauntingly. "All you did was delay your undoubted LOSING." He laughs as he tosses the ball to Puck, who catches it with ease and pops the minty green gum in his mouth.

"You ready Finnly?"

"Bring it on _Noah_." The boys laugh and start their friendly yet nonetheless competitive game of two-on-two basketball.

Kurt, Mercedes, Quinn and Tina watch on, from the comfort of the shade, as the boys get sucked into the competitiveness of the game. Pretty soon, Puck and Mike look like they're already on the verge of getting in a fight before the other two break them up and they're back in the game, friendly again.

"Did you guys notice," Artie voices out as he rolls up to their picnic table, taking them by surprise "If they were to suddenly burst into song, which we've been known to do, it would be a strange comparison to the dreaded _High School Musical?"_

This causes laughter from the other Glee members and Mercedes says "Too bad none of them ain't as cute as that Zac Effron. Mm. Dam that white boy is smokin'."

"Agreed." Kurt smiles. "Not to mention that we sing much more high school-related songs. I do believe 'Having My Baby' is a more likely song to sing than 'We're All in This Together'…Although I'd KILL to sing 'Fabulous.'" This causes a ripple of laughter to go over the friends.

Tina seats herself next to Artie as he apologizes; his father had to attend to a few errands before he could drop Artie off. "It looks like I'm not the only one late though." He notices. "Where are the other girls?"

"Finn told me on the ride over that Rachel sent a three-part text message apologizing for her tardiness because she had to reorganize her trophy room with her dads."

"And I doubt Santana and Brittany will show up." Quinn says with a mixture of sureness and disappointment.

Tina frowns as she glances at the rest of the park. "Yeah…That would mean being seen in public with us…of their own free wills and everything."

The blonde nods. "Ms. Sylvester always told us that hanging around with Glee club was more of a social suicide than quoting Star Trek or trying out for the Chess club and failing to get in."

"It's true." Kurt backs up her statement. "Ms. Sylvester still says that to me whenever I'm within twenty feet of her…I wouldn't doubt that Santana and Brittany are drones to it."

The small group takes a moment for the news to sink in before Artie pipes up with a smile. "I think we should get some ice cream from the snack shack up the path. You know; a little summer initiation with mint chocolate chip." A chorus of instant agreement sounds.

Quinn dashes to the court, pulls Puck off to the side, and tells him that they'll be back after they get some frozen treats. He nods and they mutter a few more sentences at each other before he pecks her on the lips and runs back to the game. She leaves with a smile and heads back towards the group, who has waited for her. "Puck said he wanted a triple scoop of strawberry; don't let me forget. Alright, let's head out."

XxXxXx

"Mike! Over here!" Finn waves his arms about since he has limited freedom from Puck's constant guard. Mike does a move that could only come from years of doing his insane dance routines, tosses the ball between Matt's legs, and it reaches Finn, who shoots a three-pointer.

"Kay dudes, I call break." Matt is panting a little, but has a grin on nonetheless.

"Yeah. I mean, only to give you guys a break from the slaughter." Finn laughs. Puck is about to retort to that before a sudden shriek interrupts the boys' conversation.

"FINN! NOAH! MATT! MIKE!" Four heads turn and all eight eyes land on the newly arrived Rachel Berry, bending over to clutch her knees and gasping haggardly to try and regain her breath. Finn is the first to sprint over to her, the three boys following after a moment to process that something _bad_ must have happened, considering the amount of fear on Rachel's face.

"It's" pant "those horrid" pant "juvenile, brutal, senseless" and she takes a few deep gulps to get the much needed oxygen.

Finn looks over at the other guys as he holds Rachel's shoulder with one hand and rubs her back with the other. "Do you guys understand any of the words she just said?" He whispers. The others all shake their heads in unity.

"HOCKEY PLAYERS!" She finally manages to get out. There's a look of realization (and worry) among each of their faces before the four boys race off in the direction of the snack shack.

XxXxXxX

(10 minutes earlier)

"Thank you!" Quinn smiles sweetly to the elderly woman. She takes the whopping triple scoop of pink delight and attempts to wrestle the wallet out of her purse. "'Cedes, could you hold this mountain for me while I get some cash?"

"Sure thing, girl…Dam, that boy must have a thing for strawberries." Mercedes says as she holds Puck's heap of ice cream in one hand and her soft serve chocolate-vanilla swirl in the other.

"He's always craving it." Quinn mutters in annoyance but has a small smile on her face nonetheless. "He always ate it while I stayed over at his house. When he wasn't talking about video game theories, he would be inhaling ice cream."

"Would he watch _The Notebook_ as he ate it, or is that just me?"

"I think that's just you, Kurt." Quinn rolls her eyes.

"Yeah. I couldn't sit through the first 20 minutes of that movie." Tina, holding her cookies and cream, says quietly as she leans on the back of Artie's chair. "It looked sappier than _Twilight._ And I didn't even think that was possible."

Quinn retrieves her cherry ice cream from the elderly woman and thanks her once again before the group follows the path back to the boys and their basketball game. With many trees on both sides of the cement path, the walk is shaded and secluded.

"You know what I've always loved about rainbow sprinkles?" Kurt asks as he observes his treat.

"That it's a food that's finally as gay as you?"

Everyone's back tenses as they hear the mocking, loud voice from behind them. Kurt's eyes first fill with fear and then anger and then he puts on his best poker face. He starts to walk again, making eye contact with his friends as he does so. _Just ignore him and walk away._

They continue on and hear a chuckle from behind. "You think you can just ignore me and I'll go away? Fat chance!" As he says that, a group of hockey players, with crossed arms and smug smirks across their faces, intercept the Glee kids and stand in front of them.

Kurt's eyes scan the area around them for any help or options. There's a woman jogging, away from them, a ways up the path and there's the elderly woman selling ice cream quite a distance in the opposite direction. They're surrounded by trees, so it's hard to see that some serious hurt is about to go down. Running isn't an option, because there's no way they're leaving Artie behind. And if they start screaming, the hockey players would probably shut them up in a moment's notice.

Well, weren't they just _screwed._

"We don't want trouble Karofsky."

"Oh, well you _got_ trouble, Fabray. I told you guys we'd come back in stronger numbers, and it looks like you guys are missing your only decent fighters."

Facing the group behind them, Artie holds out his arm in front of Tina, attempting whatever protective stance he can offer. As she glares daggers at the hockey team, Tina nudges Artie's arm back down and holds his hand instead, having them stand up for each other equally.

After tossing his hindering frozen treat to the side, Kurt steps in front of Mercedes and Quinn with his arms crossed and face still void of emotion, facing Karofsky. _Don't let him smell your fear. Bullies get their high and giggles off of it._

Quinn whips out her cell and calls one of her speed dials as she keeps her eyes locked on the hockey players, who are slowly closing in on them.

"Boy, if you don't call off your gorillas in the next five seconds, Imma go all out on your stupid white ass-"

"I wasn't talking to you, wide load." Karofsky smirks. "That's a lot of ice cream there, Jones. What? You need two cones just to maintain your three ton weight?"

"Oh, _HELL_ to the no-!"

"Hey!" Kurt's angry voice cuts her off and his eyes flash. "You don't talk to her that way." His voice is deathly quiet yet as strong as his posture. "Or any of us for that matter. You've always had the biggest problem with me. Let them leave and do your cliché bullying endeavors, which make you feel better about your sad, pathetic life, to me."

"Oh, I'm sure you'd love to be alone with a bunch of guys, Hummel." Karofsky cracks his knuckles. "But I'm interested in all of you. As you know, I'm not against pushing chicks around. Since there aren't any real men here, I got nothin' to worry about."

The other members of New Directions all toss their ice cream cones to the side, freeing up their hands for the encounter that's seconds away.

"Dammit, Puck isn't answering." Quinn whispers. "And neither is Finn."

XxXxXxX

"'_So happy together.'"_ Rachel sings to herself as she walks briskly down the park's walkway towards her (finally) boyfriend, Finn, and the rest of the Glee clubbers. "_'I can't see me loving nobody but you for all my life.'_" She looks over as the pavement forks off and only catches a glimpse of something, but it's enough to gain her attention.

She sees a large group between the gaps in the trees. And she's pretty sure she saw Quinn's and Tina's faces in there.

The young show-stopping singer hurriedly rushes towards the gathering and she's about to say 'I knew you guys would change the meeting location and not tell me!' but what she sees stops her dead in her tracks.

Her friends are surrounded by those hockey-playing thugs. And Karofsky is cracking his knuckles in preparation for what looks like is about to be a massacre.

Rachel covers her mouth with her hand before she can squeak in surprise (and horror) and without a second thought, she runs towards the basketball court where she knows the boys are playing. Because as fierce as the diva knows she is, she's sure that she's not strong enough to take on fifteen meathead hockey players, with arms the size of tree trunks, at once.

She's so concerned with getting help ASAP; she doesn't even notice the dark figure that's been trailing her for the past ten minutes.

XxXxXx

There's the first chapter. : ) Hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing.

Stay tuned to see what happens! –Insert intense scene switching Glee music right here-

Songs used:

Happy Together by The Turtles (Or Simple Plan, whichever floats your boat)


	2. Unexpected Savior

Summeritis

A/N: Just so you guys know, I hate, hate, **HATE** hearing insults like "Fag" "Retard" "Gay" the N word, or any other racial/offensive term. It makes me sick when people use them in real life. The only reason I use those kinds of words in this story is to help show how heartless and offensive the bullies in this tale can be and how modern those kinds of insults are. It's hard to give an evil/heartless character a dark or hateful image when his insults are censored. But I don't support any of it in any way. Seriously. Don't use those kinds of terms around me.

Alright, now that we've gotten that out in the open, enjoy Summeritis!

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Karofsky's arms shoot out and grip the, previously wrinkle free, collar around Kurt's neck. Mercedes shrieks in anger ("Get your paws _off _my boy!") and rushes forward, Quinn tailing behind her, but Kurt holds up his arm, glances behind to look her in the eyes for a second, and offers a brave smile. _It's alright. Let me just take my lumps and get it over with._

"Hey Hummel. Since you've probably never kissed a dude before, let me do the honors by letting you kiss my fist!" Karofsky snickers and swings back his arm.

The world seems to slow down through Mercedes' eyes in that moment. Quinn screams out, desperately, "STOP!"; Kurt scrunches his face together, bracing for impact and the undoubted foundation he'll have to apply daily to the bruises; Karofsky's face takes on an ugly look of arrogance, reveling in the pain he's about to cause; Mercedes feels herself bounding forward, but it's _just not fast enough_…

_Slap._

A hand shoots out and wraps around Karofsky's wrist in an iron-tight grip, holding back the punch inches from Kurt's face. Kurt lets out a burst of breath in a huff of relief and goes to immediately thank his savior before the words get stuck coming out of his throat.

Jesse St. James…holding back a now-agitated Karofsky.

What in the _hell…?_

Karofsky shoves away Kurt, who is caught by Mercedes and Quinn, and snaps his arm back at his new target, leader of Vocal Adrenaline.

Jesse dodges the punch, seemingly with ease, and brings his knee up to Karofsky's thick gut. After the bully lurches forward, trying to gain a little bit of breath back into his lungs, Jesse slams his elbow down into his back, bringing the tormentor down flat on the ground.

"Karofsky!" One of the other hockey players, all of whom had been standing by, flabbergasted at the events unfolding before them, yells out. The second-in-command, it seems, creases his face with anger and grabs Tina by the arm as he screams "You gay clowns are going DOWN-!"

"HOLD IT!" Jesse yells out, pointing his finger at Tina's captor. "Growing up, I took three different forms of martial arts: Ninjutsu, Kung Fu, and Jujutsu; got my black belt in each field. Your friend here will vouch for that." Karofsky lets out a well-timed moan of pain. "If that's not enough, the other members of this Glee club, the _football players,_ are less than thirty seconds away. Now, unless you want a complete public beat down and a possible arrest by my uncle, a lieutenant in this town, for harassment, I suggest you get yourselves as far away from here as possible."

Tina's holder, who now has Artie's feeble yet persistent grip pulling on his arm and Tina's black, painted nails digging into his skin, seems to be slowly considering the options. After a few moments of hesitation, he throws down the goth girl's arm and heads over to his fallen comrade. Once Karofsky's back up on his feet, the two teens head over to the rest of their group. The jocks glare daggers at Jesse and the rest of the Glee kids who now have victorious looks on their faces.

"Alright. Without the surprise attack, you queermos would've been road kill by now. And since I don't feel like dealing with Finn and the other retards in public, I'll wait 'til you guys are all alone to come back…You won't know when, and you won't know where. But when you least expect it—BAM," Artie involuntarily winces "That's when we'll kick the _crap_ out of you. And trust me; it'll be a spot where _no one_ can pull another last second rescue." With that, he glances up at Jesse. "Any questions?"

"Yes. Are you quite finished?" Kurt voices while raising an eyebrow. "I've seen babbling brooks far more interesting and intelligent sounding than you right now."

"Fag…" Karofsky mutters darkly, leading his group off down the park path. "You'll be the first for a fist facial."

Kurt, with his chin held defiantly high and arms crossed, watches them walk off, soaking in whatever victory he gained there today. (He didn't exactly fight Karofsky off himself, but he avoided some serious bruising. That was progress.) As soon as they're a safe distance away, he does a 180 and lets out another breath of relief in a huge gush.

"Dam Kurt, you showed some serious bravery up there." Relieved that he's still intact, Mercedes smiles as she hugs him. "How'd you stay so calm through alla that?"

"Well years of practice…But, I'm pretty sure I wet myself during crunchtime. I'll let you know when my adrenaline slows and I get feeling back in my body." He chuckles a bit and then his gaze along with the other gazes' of New Directions land on Jesse's form a few yards away.

"Uh…Listen guys-"

"No. You listen to us." Mercedes takes charge, placing her hands on her hips. "I don't know why you went Dark Knight all up in there a minute ago, but we still ticked about the, oh, what was it again guys?" Mercedes' voice takes on a sharp, sarcastic tone as she bats her eyelashes at her comrades.

"I believe it was the last minute betrayal and egging of one of our companions." Artie wheels up and settles his glare on Jesse as well.

"Not to mention the mature little toilet paper stunt too." Quinn chimes in.

Jesse opens his mouth, but is interrupted by a loud "GUYS!" from right behind him.

"The cavalry has arrived." Jesse mutters, but puts on a show smile, facing four angry looking football jocks.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"GUYS!" Finn yells out, slowing his sprint down as he takes in the view before him.

The hockey jocks are walking off…His friends are all standing there seemingly unharmed…and smiling away like an idiot is Jesse St. James, jerk-extraordinaire, standing there with them.

'_Maybe I got hit on the head…Or someone spiked my water…Or both.'_

Not as athletic as the boys, Rachel finally catches up behind them. She's breathless, both from the major running and the sudden sight before her.

Jesse makes eye contact with her. She turns away.

Puck, his shoulders tense and face angry, tries to stride past Finn towards the musically talented male rival, while going "Hey, buddy. Let's have a chat-." Finn reaches out, holds onto Puck's shoulder and smiles as he says "Let me take care of it."

Puck seems reluctant at first, but then shrugs off Finn's hand and makes his way towards Quinn and the others instead.

"You ok?" He whispers to her. "Anything I need to punch in or crack skulls over?" She shakes her head, still looking a little shaken up after the whole ordeal.

"No, no I'm good." Quinn runs a hand through her blonde curls and looks back over her shoulder, a little paranoia starting to seep in. She glances over to the upside down cone a few feet away and gives a little chuckle. "Sorry about the ice cream though…I know how addicted you are to it."

He wraps his arm around her shoulders and pulls her against his form. "As long as it's the ice cream splattered on the ground and not you, I think I'll survive." She smiles a blinding smile into his chest.

Mike and Matt run over to Mercedes, Kurt, Tina and Artie. Matt says in a hurried rush "What happened?" at the same time Mike exclaims "Are you guys alright?"

"It's cool y'all." Mercedes sighs. "My man Kurt here stood up to that moron Karofsky until back up showed." Kurt looks like he just kicked three field goals in a row.

"Not that we needed it…" Tina scoffs, observing her nails. "I mean, Artie and I could have taken on twenty alone. Not to mention Mercedes, Quinn and Kurt would dish out indescribable pain for the remainders…"

Silence. Then the friends burst into laughter, a major change from the tense situation less than three minutes ago. When it quiets down, Artie says in a voice as serious as a funeral "It's true you know…" And they rupture into hoots and giggle once more.

Rachel, Finn, and Jesse face each other with a tension in the air thicker than cement. Finn and Jesse glare each other down while Rachel watches between them, like a tennis match.

Eventually, Finn shoves his hands in his pockets and apprehensively walks over to stand inches from Jesse. "I'm guessing you were the backup." Jesse gives a single nod. Finn's lips seem to struggle to form a smile and after a few tries, he finally forms one. "Thanks man…For helping my friends."

"I-"

POW

Rachel's hand shoots up to cover her gaping mouth. All of the other New Directions kids whip their heads around and it suddenly goes deadly quiet.

Finn's fist slowly comes back to rest at his side and Jesse's body is slightly leaning over to the right; his dirty-blonde bangs cover up the expression on his face.

"…But you still made an omelet out of my girlfriend. Saving my friends just kept me from kicking you in the groin."

Jesse smirks and lifts his face back up to make eye contact with the person responsible for his swelling cheek. "Understandable. Now, may I be so bold to ask that I have some one on one time to talk with Rachel?"

Finn snorts and shows an angry smile. "Last time you told her to meet you one on one, she came back dripping with egg goo. How stupid do you think I am?" His voice rises a little at the end.

Jesse shrugs. "From what I remember, after being transferred into your English Lit class, you thought Hamlet was an appetizer at Denny's. So, I'd say _pretty_ stupid."

Finn's muscles tense and he's about to dash forward and show Jesse what the school's quarterback is _really_ made out of but a small hand and a desperate "Finn, don't." keep him held in place. He looks back down to see Rachel and Jesse having a stare off.

"I appreciate your need to be chivalrous, Finn and truthfully I find it quite flattering and sweet. But if you don't mind, I'd like to finally get my deep build up of emotions over this lost love off my chest once and for all."

"…Uh…"

She smiles up at him. "I'll be fine talking with Jesse. Promise." He grins back down at her and gives her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"I'll be here if you need me." He looks back over to Jesse and gives a stare. _Don't do anything to make her need me. _Jesse nods, understanding the message.

The ex-couple walk down the path together; Finn watches them go and, even though he knows she would never get back together with Jesse after what he did, he feels a bud of worry start to bloom in his stomach. A minute passes and Finn heads back to the others to assure that they're all right and ask what in the hell exactly happened a few minutes ago.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"So…how did you get those barbaric hockey thugs to run off?" Rachel mutters. Her eyes dart to the right, not sure if she really wants to start any conversation with the boy she thought she really loved…Once upon a time.

"I beat up the captain; Kawalsky, I think his name was. After that, I told them how I mastered martial arts and that my uncle was a cop." He lets a chuckle rumble in his throat. "They went running with their tails between their legs."

"You did martial arts?"

"In second grade, my friend had us all do a free round of karate lessons for his birthday. After I realized none of the musical arts were applied, I immediately lost interest."

"And your uncle?"

"Donut shop owner…Cop…The line's a little hazy…"

She shakes her head a bit. "Well…How did you beat up Karofsky enough to make them believe you could hurt on command? Physically." _It's not a secret you can break someone emotionally._

Jesse seems to get the underlying message and clears his throat. "I may not be able to do a crouching tiger or a seismic crocodile or whatever, but after being in Vocal Adrenaline, and doing the intense, complex, and perfected dance routines which can involve carrying another person, throwing them, catching them, doing flips…You start to get muscle." He flexes a bit, probably subconsciously. "All I did was hold his hand, lift my leg, and swing my arm. Then _boom._ The moron goes down and all those idiots just stare amazed. Then again, I am used to that."

"Used to what, exactly?"

"Having an audience gaping at my unbridled talent."

"Oh. I thought you were describing your ability to bring a person down painfully and humiliatingly."

"…" Jesse and Rachel walk on in an awkward silence neither is sure how to break after that outburst. Jesse takes a breath, ready to break the ice this time. "So-"

"We need to get this out in the open." Rachel stops in front of him, making eye contact with him for the first time as she continues to confidently speak. "You used me. You toyed with my feelings with no real intention of ever returning them. Whether or not your ultimate goal was to help show me who my biological mother was or to emotionally cripple the lead singer of your undoubted competition at Regionals, you broke my heart, mortified me with eggs to add insult to injury, and did whatever you could to get under me and my friends' skins." She's breathless again and she realizes at some point within her emotional release, she's started gravitating towards the talented young man.

"…" His eyes trail down her face. His silence is a confirmation that everything she just said was true.

"…Why?" She whispers. "Why'd you help them after you've made it so clear that you despise us to an extraordinary level?"

"…I saw you." He starts. "I was going for my morning jog, to keep my respiratory system in top shape to sing those extreme vocals, and I saw you walking along to wherever it was you were heading. I followed you. I wanted to say something- I didn't know what and I'm still not sure what. But I wanted to attempt to try and make amends for what happened last time."

He takes a few steps to the side and looks at the view of the park as he continues. "I saw you freak out and run off faster than I've ever seen you move. I jogged over to see what the deal was, I had personally figured it was an audition for an elite musical and you were off to rehearse your lines, and saw your friends in trouble…I wanted to help. So I figured if I took out the leader of the pack, the rest would fall in order."

"Well yes; I guess that's your philosophy for everything. Take out the biggest threat of a team and the rest will be easy to beat." Her voice is tight, on the verge of screaming or crying, he's not sure. She turns in the opposite direction and starts to walk back. "I've said what I wanted to say. You've attempted to say what you wanted to say. Now these feelings can stay buried and burden-free-"

"I meant what I said, you know." His confession stops her. "…I really did love you."

She turns around. "…Assuming that you're telling the truth" _Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice… _"It's too late. I've moved on. On to a _much_ better man. A much more kind, loving, giving-"

"Boring, stupid, incompetent." Jesse names off in a monotonous voice. "It's a shame such a talented, driven girl is stuck with a boy who has got a decent set of pipes and still isn't sure what grade he's in."

"_DON'T _go insulting Finn. He's a gifted entertainer who would never intentionally hurt me, lie to me, and lead me on the way you did."

Jesse opens his mouth to argue, reconsiders, and clamps his mouth back shut again. "All I'm saying is I would be a much better _male singing lead_ for you than he would on any given day."

"Well, I guess we'll never have to make that comparison." She says convinced. He walks up to her and she finds herself unwillingly getting absorbed into his eyes.

He's a breath away and she holds her breath, waiting for him to say, do, something.

"…We'll see." He kisses her forehead, right where he crammed that egg and it had shattered like her heart had, and pulls away.

She watches him walk off in a confident stride and she feels her heart warm up, freeze down, and run at a million beats per second or an estimate close to that. Her emotions are running in a fury in the pit of her stomach and she feels the lyrics start to pour out her mouth…

_Head under water  
And they tell me to breathe easy for a while  
The breathing gets harder, even I know that_

_Made room for me but it's too soon to see  
If I'm happy in your hands  
I'm unusually hard to hold on to_

_Blank stares at blank pages  
No easy way to say this  
You mean well, but you make this hard on me  
_

_I'm not gonna write you a love song  
'cause you asked for it  
'cause you need one, you see  
I'm not gonna write you a love song  
'cause you tell me it's  
Make or break in this  
If you're on your way  
I'm not gonna write you to stay  
_

_If all you have is leaving I'm gonna need a better  
Reason to write you a love song today_

_I learned the hard way  
That they all say things you want to hear  
And my heavy heart sinks deep down under you and  
Your twisted words,  
Your help just hurts  
You are not what I thought you were_

_Hello to high and dry _

_Convinced me to please you  
Made me think that I need this too  
I'm trying to let you hear me as I am_

_I'm not gonna write you a love song  
'cause you asked for it  
'cause you need one, you see  
I'm not gonna write you a love song  
'cause you tell me it's  
Make or break in this  
If you're on your way  
I'm not gonna write you to stay  
If all you have is leaving I'm gonna need a better  
Reason to write you a love song today, today_

As her voice fades out on the last word, she feels a vibration in her pocket (it startles the ever living _daylights_ out of her) and she eagerly accepts the distraction from this recent turn of events.

It's Finn. 'R U Ok?' She smiles at his small yet heartfelt comment and instantly texts back 'Indubitably. I will return in six minutes flat.' She claps her phone closed and sets off in a brisk pace to her (she's sure, of course, without a doubt) love and friends.

She doesn't see Jesse standing in the distance, once again, watching her stroll off. "She's hooked."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

There's the second chapter! Hope you enjoyed reading!

PS: Authors _thrive_ off of reviews. It gives us something to work for, to look forward to. I get that not every reader out there has a fanfiction dot net account, but for those who do and who honor me with reading farther into my story, help give me something to look forward to please. :) With that said, I'd like to thank my first reviewers: .xx, TutorGurl, prettykurama. You guys are awesome.

Song Credits: Love Song by Sara Bareilles

I've decided I want to try and update every four days. Let's see how that goes and how many people stay attached enough to this story to take notice. : )

I think I'm doing a good enough job of keeping everyone's personality in check. What do you think?

Don't worry; everything gets rocky at one point or another. I guess we'll have to see what happens with Rachel and her certain 'somebody to love.'

Reviews, again, are SO MUCH appreciated.


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